Tiny Troubles
by Usami
Summary: Trunks always wanted a good older brother like Goten has. Does he have what it takes to BE one?


**Tiny Troubles**

Bulma picked up all the magazines that Trunks left on the floor. She began to wonder how her parents felt when she was 14. Trunks would read or use something, then never put it back where he got it, just like she did when she was a teenager. She had just noticed now how similar Trunks acted like her when she was that age, and she almost missed when he was a little boy. He was very popular in school now, and was out a lot. _Seems like yesterday that he and Goten were playing one of their fight games, _she thought.

She dropped some of the magazines and cursed slightly under her breath for doing so. She had much difficulty concentrating on things she was doing for a while, and she had been wondering why, until a few hours ago. Now it made perfect sense, and also why she had sudden hunger strikes. She was waiting for Trunks to get home from school so she could tell him the news. Bulma also wondered where Vegeta was at this point because she wanted to tell him too.

The door suddenly slammed closed and Bulma yelped, dropping whatever was left of the stack of magazines in her hand. She let out an agitated sigh as she began picking up the magazines again.

"Mom?" Trunks said as he came into the living room. "I heard you yell. You okay?"

"I'm fine Trunks," Bulma said in a sarcastic tone, "the door just slammed and I had a heart attack, that's all."

Trunks smiled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Mom," he said, "I was just thinking about this test we have at school."

"I see. But is the test worth breaking the house?"

"I said sorry. I didn't mean to slam the door that hard."

"So, you didn't want to slam the door that hard, but you still meant to slam the door?"

"No, I meant…" Trunks gave shook his head and held his hands in the air as to say, 'Alright, you win. I give up.'

"Well, then, that's fine then. But I really wish you wouldn't leave all these magazines around the house. Where do you get all these?"

"Goten. He wants me to try and read all these."

"What for?"

"I dunno, something about popularity."

"Aren't you popular enough, Trunks?"

"Sure I am, but it's not enough for Goten."

"Okay, what does Goten get out of this?"

"I'm not too sure, but he says, that his popularity goes up if mine does." Trunks shrugged. "You got me."

"Well, that's…interesting. Trunks, would you sit down, I need to tell you something."

Trunks sat on the couch as his mother placed the magazines on the table. She sat down next to him, trying to figure out what she wanted to say.

"Trunks," she said, um…I went to the doctor's today…"

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, for the most part. You know that I haven't been myself, right. I'm acting a little more clumsy than usual?" Trunks nodded. "Well, when I went to the doctor's to find out why, and…"

"And what Mom?"

"…I found out that I'm pregnant."

Trunks blinked a bit, tilting his head to the side a little. He looked at his mother, then he looked out the window. Looking back at his mother, he asked, "Are you sure?"

"The doctor ran the most accurate pregnancy test he could think of. It was positive."

Trunks shook his head, then stood up and grabbed his backpack. "Where are you going?" Bulma asked him.

"Out," he said hotly.

"Not without a reason, Trunks."

Trunks was about to argue when the phone rang. Picking it up, he said, "Hello?"

"Hi Trunks. It's Goten."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Gohan and Videl are going out to dinner tonight, you know, since it's Friday. I was wondering if you could come over and help me take care of Pan. She doesn't like me that much, and she's such the little trouble maker, so I need your help."

"Hold on, I'll ask." Trunks looked at his mom. "Goten wants to know if I can over there and help him take care of Pan."

"Why does he need help? She's barely a year."

"Goten doesn't handle babies that well."

"I suppose, if he needs that much help."

Trunks went back to the phone conversation. "What time?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Gohan and Videl are leaving in, like, half an hour."

"Why?"

"How should I know? Gohan only said that they had 'special plans.'"

"Why don't your parents take care of Pan?"

"Because Mom made Dad take her to the mall to buy baby stuff for the baby. Could you just get over here? Like, now?"

"Alright, I'm going. See ya later." Trunks hung up the phone, then made his way to the door.

"Trunks. We really need to talk when you get home, okay?"

"Whatever." Then Bulma heard the sound of the door closing. She sighed as she sought Vegeta to tell him the news.

* * *

"Now way!" Goten said. "Are you serious?" 

"Shhh, Goten, Pan's asleep. Do you really want to wake her up?" In Trunks' arms, the baby Pan stirred a little, but remained in her peaceful sleep.

"Sorry, but are you serious? Your mom's pregnant?"

"That's what she told me."

"And you are?"

"Come again?"

"You thrilled? Angry? Something like that, more or other?"

"I dunno. I guess I was pretty angry when Mom told me, but it was more of…I dunno…maybe…"

"Jealousy?" Goten suggested. Trunks shrugged.

"I guess. I'm just used to getting all the attention from my Mom, and then this baby'll come and Mom'll have to take care of it and such."

Goten nodded. "Yeah, I used to feel that way before Pan was born."

"Pan? Why?"

"Well, I mean, I know she ain't my sister. But she is my niece, ya know, and she's Gohan's daughter, and I used to think that he would pay more attention to her than to me, and you know how much of an attention hog I am. Also, my parents, 'specially my mom, were really excited to know that they would be grandparents."

"And what happened?"

"Well, Pan was born, and everyone was fussing over her in the hospital, trying to see her while Videl held her, and I was kinda standin' in the back, 'cuz I didn't wanna see the baby. But then Gohan asked if I wanted to hold her, and I didn't wanna say anything bad 'bout his kid, ya know? So I held her, and, I thought she was kinda cute."

"So what, did your problems just go away?"

"Like hell, no. But after a while, I didn't mind giving up the attention for once, because, well, she was small and pretty much helpless. And I figured that they had to pay attention to her in order for her to actually grow. And Gohan said that maybe she would look up to me for a role model or something."

"She could, but then her life would be as much screwed up as yours." Goten shot him a look, but Trunks looked down at the baby as if to say, 'You can't hurt me. I have a baby.'

"My point is, Trunks, that this baby sib of yours might look up to you as a positive role model. Ya know, like we did with Gohan, or you with your dad, or me with my dad. Plus, if you take care of this baby, your mom will think you're more responsible and stuff."

"Really?"

"Hey, worked for me."

"Like how?"

"Well, I heard my parents talking before, about how much I help Gohan with Pan. So they decided that they were gonna get me a cell phone," Goten said smiling.

"Well, that's cool, but I dunno if I can take care of the baby."

"Oh, come off it Trunks. You can take care of Pan just fine. Babies are almost all the same. All they need is a bottle, a new diaper every once in a while, and attention. You can do that with Pan, why not with your own blood?"

By this time, all the talking had woken baby Pan. She began to fuss in Trunks' arms, crying loudly.

"Trunks," Goten yelled, trying to be heard over the bawling baby, "do something." His yelling only made Pan cry more.

"Goten, get Pan's bottle." Trying to cover his ears, Goten went into the kitchen to get the bottle in the fridge. He returned, handing the bottle to Trunks. Trunks fed Pan the bottle, though she tried to resist at first, she then took the bottle and drank. She stopped fussing, but grabbed the bottle for her to hold.

"At least she's quiet," Trunks said, sitting on the couch.

"If I tried to give her the bottle," Goten said, "she would cry harder and probably smack it out of my hand."

"I don't think so. She'd be too hungry to do that."

"She'd do that to me, 'cuz she doesn't like me very much."

"She wouldn't tell the difference if you fed her to when I fed her."

"Yes she does. If I'm in the room holding her, she starts to cry and cry, until Videl or Gohan comes in to get her, and she stops."

"Goten, sometimes she'd cry even if her parents were around. No one can make a baby stop crying until they give the baby what they want."

"I can never tell what a baby wants. I think I might get it wrong."

"Well, it's not like you have much to guess. Like you said, they either need a bottle, a diaper, or attention."

"Okay, okay. But I wanna know how you know how to do this kinda stuff."

"I'm not sure," Trunks said thoughtfully, "but I think when Marron was a baby, I liked to watch Kuririn and 18 take care if her. I dunno."

"I don't remember that."

"You were 3, Goten."

"Oh."

Pan stopped drink from the bottle and began to fuss again. Trunks placed the bottle next to him and placed Pan on his shoulder, patting her back softly.

"I've seen Gohan do that, but I never understood why."

"It helps the baby burp, Goten. If they don't, it hurts, and they start to cry."

"Why do they need help to burp? Why can't they do it themselves?"

"This really is the first time you've had any contact with a baby, isn't it Goten?"

"You mean taking care of one? Yeah, I mean, I've taken care of her before, but I wasn't sure what to do, so I let mom take care of her, 'cuz I figured she had more experience. Besides, every other time Gohan and Videl needed a sitter, I had a date."

"Jeez, you really like dating, don't you?"

"Your fault. You set me up on my first one, and it's fun."

"Ok, whatever." Pan shuffled a bit, and then let out a small burp sound. Trunks went into Gohan's room where the crib was. He placed her down on her back, then winded the toy mobile above the crib. As it turned, playing "Rock A Bye Baby," Pan tried to catch the rotating stars. The song made her tired, and she rubbed her eyes before falling asleep.

"Is she asleep?" Goten asked as Trunks walked in the living room.

"Yeah, she's asleep."

"Yeah, see, when I try to put her down for her nap, she would pull my hair."

"Maybe if you put it back in your old hairstyle, he wouldn't be able to grab your hair."

"Please, she grabs Dad's hair, for crying out loud. If I had Dad's hair, she would grab mine, too. And besides, Mom's afraid that people would mistaken us for each other."

Trunks had to agree. When they met Goku for the first time, the first thing Trunks noticed about Goku (besides the halo) was how similar he and Goten looked. Now that Goten was 13, he was a taller version of himself and a shorter version of Goku, but people still could get them mixed up, so Goten was beginning to let his hair grow out.

"Well, at least people would be able to tell you apart when your hair grows out more."

"Yeah," Goten said, scratching his head, "'cept people say that I look like Gohan when he let his hair grow out, when he was younger."

"Well, I don't think that really matters. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm up to taking care of a little brother or sister if they're gonna act like Pan." Trunks took a seat on the chair. Goten lay down on the couch, putting his head on the armrest.

"Why not?"

"Well, this is _my _sibling we're talking about. Pan is a quarter Saiyan, and she's a whole mess of trouble. If a sibling is born into my family, it would be a half Saiyan, and with my dad…"

"Oh, you're right. But maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe it'll be kinda cool."

"My _dad_, Goten. We are talking about my _dad._ Do you remember how hard he wanted me to train when we were kids? And now that I've stopped, he wants me to train more than ever. If this baby comes around, boy or girl, he'll try to get the kid to train when the kid's older."

"Well…maybe if it's a girl, she can manipulate your dad. I mean, Marron's got her dad wrapped around her little finger. And you can't forget how well women can handle men, even Saiyan men. My mom, your mom, Videl, they can handle us. Maybe if your little sib is a girl, she can handle your dad, too."

"Yeah, but what if it's a boy?"

"Then maybe your mom will be on his side."

Trunks scoffed. "Yeah she will," he said in a bitter tone.

Goten looked at his friend, then smirked. "So what you're really worried about is that if the baby is born a boy, your mom will pick his side over yours, just because he's younger."

"That's what happened with you and Gohan when you were little."

"Yeah, Mom always took my side. Kinda fun."

"Yeah, from a little brother point of view."

"Well, yeah, Trunks, but everyone listens to a little kid, because they're so cute. As they get older, they only listen to you if you if you have something important to say."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. People listened to me when I was little because I threw temper tantrums. Now, they only listen if I have something important to say. I can't exactly compete with Gohan, the brains of the Son family. He at least fulfilled someone's expectations for him."

"There's no competition involved, Goten. Gohan did what your mom wanted him to do, because he wanted to make her happy. Doesn't mean she loves you any less. You do what you like, but Gohan does what it takes to make your parents proud of him, one more than the other. They let you make your own decisions, and if you want to do what they want, that's fine with them, but if you don't, they don't mind. You and Gohan are loved equally by both parents, no matter what the either one of you do."

Goten folded his arms across his chest, looking a little annoyed. "Now, are you sure you aren't ready to be a big brother yet?" he asked

Trunks laughed. "Well," he said, "I thought I wasn't, but then again, I had a lot of practice on you as well as Pan. So I guess that I'm ready for a sib when it's a baby, or when it's growing up. Boy or girl."

Goten stuck his tongue at Trunks. Then he smiled. "What do you think it'll be?"

"I'm not sure, but if it's a girl, it'll be a girl born a year after Pan."

"That's right. Do you think they'll be best friends like we are? We're only a year apart, but we're best friends."

"They might be, if they spend enough time around each other like we have."

"That's to be expected, since our families are such close friends."

"Yeah, I guess." Trunks closed his eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like to have a little brother or sister. If it was a little brother, he could look up to Trunks like Goten did with Gohan when he was small. If it was a little sister… Trunks wasn't sure what would happen if it were a girl. Trunks always found girls a little hard to understand. They could be so fickle, and were hard to predict. With a guy, Trunks thought, when you get to know him long enough, you tend to see a pattern in their actions. With women, it was always hard for him to tell. _Then again, _he said to himself, _I'm not a girl, so I guess it's right for me to wonder about them._

The sound of a door opening and closing was heard from the front. Goten and Trunks looked to see the returning parents, Gohan and Videl. "Hey," Videl said.

"I thought you weren't coming back until later," Goten said, smiling mischievously.

"We had to cancel the restaurant reservation, because the restaurant was closed for cleaning, or something," Gohan said with a sigh, oblivious to what Goten was thinking. Then he turned to Trunks. "And what are you doing here Trunks?"

"Are you happy to see me?" Trunks said, teasingly, "or are you saying I'm not welcomed here?"

"You know what I mean, Trunks."

"Well, Goten invited me over, so he wouldn't be stuck on baby duty alone."

"I see. Well, then, I guess Goten wouldn't mind me splitting the money I was gonna give him with you."

"Gohan!" Goten protested. "That's not fair!"

"Maybe you should give them both the same amount," Videl said. "They both did take care of Pan. And well, in fact, since I'm guessing she's asleep."

"She is," Trunks and Goten said.

Gohan sighed, seeing that he couldn't win, pulled out his wallet. "I suppose," he said, "if you think so Videl." She just smiled. "So, would you like to stay for dinner, Trunks?"

"No thanks, Gohan. I don't want to be any trouble –"

"It's no trouble Trunks," Gohan interrupted.

Videl huffed in an agitated manner. "Speak for yourself," she said. "You don't have to cook for a Saiyan, do you? You should try it. You might see how I feel."

"Videl," Gohan said in a hushed voice, "I was trying –"

"It's okay," Trunks said. "I need to talk with my mom about something anyway, so I should be getting home. I left angrily on the way over here, and I also need to apologize, too."

"That's not like you, Trunks," Gohan said. "Is everything alright at your house?"

"Bulma is pregnant!" Goten blurted. Trunks gave him a stern look, and Goten just grinned back.

"She is?" Videl gasped. "How long has she known?"

Trunks grabbed his backpack off the floor and just shrugged. "I think she found out just this morning. But she's been acting really weird for the past few weeks, so I'm guessing maybe around a month."

"A month, huh?" Gohan asked. Trunks shrugged again.

"I dunno," he said, "just guessing. Anyway, I gotta go now and work things out with her. She wanted to talk to me as soon as possible I think."

"Okay," Goten said. "If you want, Trunks, I'll fly home with you."

"Nah, I'm okay. I need to be alone for a while anyway. See ya all later." Trunks opened the door and walked out, leaving it open for all of them to see him fly off.

"Gohan," Videl said, "shouldn't you do something? Something seemed wrong with Trunks when he left."

Gohan thought for a minute, then shook his head. "He just needs to adjust," Gohan informed her. "He just needs to get used to the fact he won't be an only child anymore, and he'll be fine."

* * *

Bulma heard the door open and close, but didn't move from her spot on the couch. It had been a little over a decade since the last time she was pregnant, she had forgotten how it felt. She took the washcloth off her forehead, dipped it in the bowl of water, and replaced it on her forehead. 

Trunks walked into the living room, looking at his mother lying on the couch. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"All I can say, Trunks, is that you are so lucky that men don't get pregnant."

"I guess this isn't a good time to talk, huh?"

After standing there for five minutes, Trunks began to walk away when Bulma finally had taken in what he had said. She scrambled to sit up, grabbing Trunks' arm before he could go any further. "Wait," she said. "You want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, but only if you want to. I mean, if you have a headache or something…"

"No, no, it's fine. I can talk about it now. But what made you change your mind, Trunks?"

"Well, believe it or not, talking to Goten actually helped me feel better. So, I'm ready to talk about it if you are."

"Okay, I guess." They both sat on the couch, both sitting in uncomfortable silence. Then, as an attempt to break the tension, Bulma asked, "So what were you so angry about before, Trunks?"

Trunks sighed. "I dunno. I wasn't angry, really, just kinda jealous."

"Jealous? Trunks, the baby won't be coming for another nine months."

"I know, but there's still so much to do for a baby. Don't you remember how Gohan and Videl acted when Videl got pregnant? They were making a room for the baby, buying stuff for the baby. They were everywhere, always fussing about what they should do to make room for the baby, and all that stuff. I guess I thought that, while you're pregnant, that you would do the same thing as Gohan and Videl did. And after the baby gets here, you'd still be all over it, always fussing over it and feeding it, and changing it, and stuff. I guess I knew that because of Gohan, and I knew that the baby would get all the attention."

"So you were jealous of a little baby getting all the attention?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. You know that I'm used to getting all the attention in this family, and with the baby comes, it'll get all the attention. I wasn't sure if I was ready to give up being the only child."

"Trunks, even with the baby around, I'll never make you feel neglected. In fact, I'll be paying more attention to you than ever. My job is very important to me, and being the president of a major company is very demanding. I'll need your help in taking care of the baby while I'm working. In fact," Bulma said with a slight smirk, "it might become very demanding of your time."

"I think I'll be able to handle it. I've been taking care of Pan for a while, and…"

"But Trunks, this is different. When you took care of Pan, that's because you wanted to. With the new baby, you're going to have to take care of it whether you want to or not. Can you handle that?"

Trunks just shrugged. "I can try," he replied.

Bulma smiled, and was about to say more, but Vegeta walked in, towel around his neck, shirt off. He was wiping his face as he came in, but looked at Bulma sternly when he finished. "The gravity machine is broken again," he said crossly. "You need to fix it."

"Again?" Bulma asked angrily. "This must be, like, the fifth time this week, Vegeta. What kind of training are you doing in there?"

"That's no business of yours, woman," he replied gruffly. Then he looked at his son. "Boy, when was the last time you trained?"

"A few days ago," Trunks said.

"Well, you should be training everyday. Gohan has had too much influence on you. His laziness is rubbing off on you."

"Dad, leave Gohan out of this. He had nothing to do with me not training. I just have other things to do than train as hard as you do. I don't have to show off my strength to anyone, because I don't need to."

Vegeta huffed and turned towards the kitchen. It wasn't any of his business if his son wanted to get lazy. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and drank it all in one gulp. Throwing the bottle away, he prepared to leave when Bulma stepped in front of him, saying, "I need to talk to you Vegeta."

"What of?"

"I need to tell you something." She turned to Trunks. "Could you go upstairs, Trunks? I'm afraid that this could take a while."

Not responding, Trunks got up and made his way to his room. _I wonder why Mom wanted me to go to my room, _he thought. Then he smiled, laughing a little to himself. _Maybe she thought that Dad would take it worse that I did. _He closed the door of his room, and fell forward, landing on his bed. _I wonder where the baby's room is gonna be. Maybe Mom can turn one of the guest rooms into a nursery. Or Grandpa and Grandma's old room._

Trunks turned so he would be staring at the ceiling. Placing his hands under his head, he closed his eyes trying to picture what his sibling would look like. If it was a boy, he might look like their father, just like Trunks did. If it was a girl, it could look like their mother. _That's just what we need, _he thought, _another Mom. _Still, it might be better to take care of a girl than a boy, especially when changing the diaper. But what would the baby grow up to be like? Would it grow up to be a fighter? Or a pacifist?

Trunks ended up falling asleep in his room, unaware of the argument building in the room below. His dreams were filled with the possibilities of looks and personality of his future sibling.

* * *

Nine months passed since the news of Bulma's pregnancy. Trunks had helped his mother make the new nursery for the baby, buy new things for the baby, and so on and so forth. He had never been so busy in his whole life. With school, helping his mother, and training (once in a while), it had been the busiest year of his life. The Briefs household was now expecting the new baby any day now. 

They had found from scans that the baby was a girl, much to Vegeta's surprise. He had been expecting another son, one who would hopefully train more than Trunks. Since it was a girl, she might be more like Bulma, who liked to fool around with mechanics. However, Trunks was already the one fooling around with mechanics, watching his mother make stuff, and trying to make stuff himself. Maybe, if he were lucky, Vegeta would have a daughter who was like himself, who wanted to train and become stronger. _If_ he was lucky.

Trunks walked into the living room, dropping his bag on the floor. Plunking himself on the couch, he grabbed the remote off the coffee table and switched on the television. He channel surfed for a while, then found a channel he liked, and watched the television program. Bulma walked in, eating a large sandwich.

"Trunks?" she mumbled with a full mouth. "Don't you have homework to do?"

"All done, Mom. How many sandwiches have you eaten today?"

"Nine, maybe ten." She swallowed. "It's not easy being pregnant with a Saiyan, even if it's only a half Saiyan. I had the same problem when I was pregnant with you."

"Well, we need to eat a lot. Even when it seems like we're not doing anything, our body burns a lot of energy. Anyway, did you schedule an appointment with the doctor?"

"Not yet, I'll get on it. I've been too busy with work, meeting deadlines, going to meetings, stuff like that."

"Well, just remember that the baby is due any minute, Mom. Especially now, you have to take care of yourself."

Bulma laughed. "You sound like my father when I was pregnant with you. Please Trunks, I've been pregnant before. I think I know what to do."

Trunks nodded. "You're right, as always. I'm just saying, though, you have to be careful."

"Don't you worry about me, Trunks. I gave birth to one half Saiyan, and I can give birth to another."

"But that was fifteen years ago. Do you think your body remembers what it was like?"

"That is the kind of thing that's hard to forget, Trunks. Seems like yesterday that I was in labor with you. I remember it well enough, I'm sure."

"Well, whatever. I'm just trying to make sure your okay, you know?"

"I know, Trunks. You've been really good about that lately. Thanks." Bulma suddenly felt a small pain in her stomach. She ignored it, she often had small pains like that before.

"No problem, Mom. Just trying to help out. I mean, someone needs to help you since Dad's sure not going to."

Bulma laughed, trying to ignore the growing pain in her stomach. Could it be the baby was finally coming out? It was possible, since the nine months had passed.

By now, Trunks had noticed something was wrong with his mother. He stood up, helping her to the couch. "What's wrong, Mom?" he asked.

"I think my water broke, Trunks."

"What? Now? Um…okay. I'll take you to the hospital, then I'll call…someone."

"I don't think that's necessary. It might be a false alarm."

"Well, better safe than sorry. Come on." Trunks was grabbing Bulma's coat when Vegeta came into the room.

"What are you doing?" Vegeta asked in a rough tone.

"Taking Mom to the hospital."

"Time for the brat to be born already?"

"We don't know, so I'm taking her just to make sure."

Bulma then let out a painful wail, grabbing onto the armrests of the couch. Trunks and Vegeta both jumped at the sound.

"I think I do need to go to the hospital now," she said painfully. "Quickly."

"Right," Vegeta and Trunks both said. Vegeta turned to his son. "You call Kakaroto's family and tell them to meet us in the hospital. I'll take her to the hospital."

Trunks nodded as Vegeta picked up his wife and left. Picking up the phone, he quickly dialed the number to Goten's house. "Pick up," he whispered softly as the phone rang on the other line.

Finally, Trunks heard someone pick up the phone. "Hello?" It was Goten.

"Goten, it's Trunks."

"Hi Trunks. What's up?"

"Is your mom or dad around?"

"Yeah, they are. Why?"

"Tell your mom that my mom's water broke."

"Wait, her what? Did it really? So she's…"

"Yes, she is. Okay? Tell your parents to meet me and Dad in the hospital, ok?"

"Yeah, okay. Sure thing. See ya later." Trunks placed the receiver into its cradle as he grabbed his jacket and followed his dad to the hospital.

* * *

The intercom paged a doctor for some surgery, but Trunks wasn't really paying attention to that. He was waiting for the doctors to finish delivering the baby. Most of the people that were waiting with them fell asleep. The only ones who were still awake was himself and Vegeta. His father was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest, as always. A frown was fixed on Vegeta's face, but not the scowl that he usually wore. It was different somehow, maybe even anxious. 

Trunks laid his head back against the headrest of the chair. He was tired, but he couldn't get himself to sleep. He was actually getting excited that his little sister was finally being born. It was kind of weird, because he had been thought of as a little brother by Gohan for so long. Could he be a big brother to this new baby? Sure, he had acted like a big brother to Goten, but it helped that they were best friends. Could he be his sister's best friend too?

The doctor came out of the delivery room, taking off the mask on his face. Trunks and Vegeta saw him approach, wondering if they were finally done. It was confirmed by the smile on the doctor's face.

"Congratulations," he said. "A baby girl is born. She has asked to see you all now, so feel free to go in as soon as you can." And he walked off down the hall.

Trunks stood up and stretched a bit. He had been sitting so long, his muscles were a little stiff. He began to wake up Goten as Vegeta walked into the room Bulma was in.

Goten shook his head as Trunks tried to wake him up. "What?" he mumbled sleepily.

"The baby's been born, that's what." Goten rubbed is eyes a bit, then looked up at Trunks. "Are you serious? 'Bout time, too."

"Come on, help me wake the others." They woke the rest of the Son family, telling them what the doctor had said. Then they all proceeded to see the new member of the Briefs family.

Trunks found the room Bulma had been placed in. When they all came in, they saw Bulma laying in the bed, holding the baby, Vegeta right by her side.

Chi Chi was the first one to reach the bed and take a look at the baby. "Oh, Bulma," Chi Chi said, "she's so adorable."

"Thanks." Everyone gathered around to see the little girl that Bulma held in her arms? "What are you gonna call her?" Goku asked.

Bulma smiled as she looked down at the sleeping baby. "Bra," she said.

"Bra Briefs," Gohan said. "Does have a nice ring to it."

Pan, from her mother's arms, looked at the little baby that everyone else was looking at. Tilting her head to the side in puzzlement, she suddenly smiled and clapped her hands playfully. "Baby," she said.

"That's right," Videl said. "A new playmate for you Pan." Pan giggled happily and nodded.

"Mom?" Trunks asked. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure Trunks." Gently, Trunks took the baby from his mother and cradled her in his arms. She fussed at first with the unfamiliar being that now held her. But after a while, after seeing that this being was friendly and safe, she nestled deeper into his chest. Trunks smiled as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Hi Bra," he whispered softly. "I'm Trunks, your big brother."

* * *

Bra snapped open her eyes and sat up. She was surprised to see herself still in bed. She wiped her forehead, which was covered with sweat. _Just a dream, _she thought. But the dream still left a chill through her body. 

She lay back down, but couldn't get herself to close her eyes. The dream left her wide-awake. She looked around her room and tried to get some comfort from the fact that the monster in her dream wasn't in her room, but it didn't work.

Her room door opened, letting in some light from the hallway, creaking with every inch it moved open. Bra quickly sat up in bed, frightened, until she saw who it was that was standing there.

"Bra?" 18-year-old Trunks said. "I heard something come form in here. Are you okay?"

Bra shook her head. "No," she said.

Trunks walked over and sat down on her bed beside her. "Did you have a nightmare?"

She nodded. "A monster came out of my closet, and ate you, and Mom, and Dad. Then it tried to eat me too, and it chased me down the city, eating all the buildings. Then I tripped, and it was about to eat me. Then I woke up."

Trunks sighed. His three-year-old sister had a big imagination, he would give her that. He got up, and walked over to the closet. Opening it, he looked around. "No monsters in here," he reported.

"I know there's no monster, but I'm still scared."

"What of?"

"I can't go back to sleep, 'cuz the monster might come back in my dream."

Trunks thought a minute, then had an idea. "What if I let you sleep in my room with me? That might help you, and you wouldn't have to sleep alone."

Bra looked at her brother. "Can I?" she asked.

"Sure. It's fine. Come on." Pulling her out of bed, Trunks let her ride on his back for a piggyback ride. Walking down the hall, Bra said, "Trunks?"

"What's up?"

"Can we get a drink of water? I'm kinda thirsty."

"Sure thing, squirt." Trunks walked down the steps and into the kitchen. He placed Bra on the counter, and grabbed a glass out of the pantry. He filled it up with water, and gave it to Bra, who drank it quick. Then Trunks took her back upstairs to his room, where he put her on his bed and, getting in, pulled up the covers.

"Feel better, Bra?" he asked. She nodded.

"Trunks?" she asked. "What does 'train' mean?"

"That depends. Where did you hear it?"

"Daddy. He said that I should train."

"Have you seen what Dad does in that little room with the machine in the center of it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's Dad training to get stronger."

"Doesn't look like much fun. Do you train like that? Like, all the time?"

"Well, I train, but not like Dad, and not all the time."

"Oh." There was a long silence as Bra stared up at the ceiling of her brother's room. After a while, Bra heard a light snoring, and looked to see her brother already sleeping. She smiled and sighed, closing her eyes. _No more monsters tonight, _she thought happily, right before she fell asleep, _not with the best big brother to protect me._

**The End**


End file.
